Inkopolis Pro Circuit
by woomyveemoyall
Summary: It's time for the long road towards the next IPC Grand Championship to begin! 30 teams will compete, but only one will raise the big gold trophy! This story follows an Inkling girl named Marcie as she pursues her lifelong dream of becoming a pro Ink Slinger, while also navigating a newfound romance, and a lowly team struggling to succeed. (Inkling girl x Octoling girl)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was a bit past midnight when Marcie got home. She usually got home much later at night, since the Battle Lobby had only just closed and she tended to go to a lounge or something with Jamie, but tonight was an exception, because today had been a special day.

Jamie, after weeks of racing against the clock, had finally achieved Level 50 as an Amateur Turf Warrior, just two days before the deadline to register for the Inkopolis Pro Circuit Draft. Tomorrow, they would go to IPC HQ to throw his name in the pool of the best Amateurs in Inkopolis. Finally, they had their first opportunity at achieving their dreams.

But right now, Marcie just wanted to lie down and watch some TV.

She propped her back against the headboard, having changed out of her gear and into a t-shirt and shorts, and settled under the covers. She was nowhere close to being tired enough to sleep, despite her and Jamie's battling all day with only brief breaks for meals. She just wasn't used to going to bed this early.

"It is midnight in Inkopolis, and it is time for the only official Inkopolis Pro Circuit news broadcast on air. Welcome to IPC Tonight!" The voice of Pepper Lakes opened the show as Marcie turned on her small TV sitting on her dresser. The light of the TV shined on her pale skin, bathing her surroundings in a cool blue. The bright red and white graphics on the screen parted to reveal the broadcaster, an attractive Inkling with black tentacles braided down one shoulder and gray eyes. She sat at her usual glass desk, various monitors and set lights set up behind her. She smiled into the camera, straightening papers on her desk. "Well, there is a buzz in the air for fans of Pro Ink War as the Draft deadline approaches, and many experts are saying this draft class will be the best in years." Footage of various Amateur battles appeared on the screen as Pepper continued. "In just two days, we will have the complete list of Amateurs who have declared for the draft, and the pecking order will begin to take shape. Who will be chosen first overall? We may not know, but now we do know what club will be picking first."

Marcie leaned forward a bit. _Was the number one pick finally traded?_

"Grizzco Grizzlies, which finished last in the New Circuit last season and was awarded the number one pick, has elected to sell the pick to City Circuit juggernaut Four-75s."

_Four-75s? _The club Marcie had grown up obsessed with, the winningest, most valuable, most hated, most beloved club in all the IPC, would pick first.

"The price tag for the draft pick was a reported 250 million cash, the most expensive draft pick transfer ever."

"250 million," Marcie murmured to herself. Even for a girl who had made hundreds of thousands in cash from Amateur battles, a quarter of a billion cash was astronomical. It was no surprise that a tiny club like Grizzco Grizzlies would sell their number one pick in the "best draft in years" for such a price, especially since it seemed like the club was just a way to make money and wasn't about winning. Marcie was very relieved that the possibility of her getting drafted to the two-year-old club owned by notorious cheapskate Mr. Grizz was off the table.

Maybe, just maybe, she could end up on Four-75s, the 37-time champions, one of the original four clubs founded over a century ago after the Great Turf War. Marcie remembered back to when she was a squishy youngster, cheering on Four-75s while watching them battle on TV. Admittedly, she had way too much Fives memorabilia when she was little. All she had in her apartment now was a lone poster of the Four-75s red and black logo among the dozens of other posters for bands and brands.

"As for the second draft pick, New Circuit squad Rainbow Nouveau has yet to make a move," Pepper Lakes continued her opening news breaks. "It is unlikely they will hold onto the pick, as the young club is experiencing financial troubles and could use a few extra millions in their budget, even at the expense of a top-two pick. The recent contract dispute that saw the dismissal of Nouveau's coach only punctuates their situation."

It was normal for the little clubs that often finished last and got high draft picks to sell those picks to make some extra funds. Only a few times in the past had a small team from the second-tier New Circuit kept their high pick. It never seemed to work out for them, or the poor Squid who got chosen.

Or Octo, Marcie reminded herself. She would have to get used to not being able to call Turf Warriors "squids." After the recent Octoling Liberation, Octolings were showing up in Amatuer battles, some even entering the draft. Marcie felt it was good to see the Octolings get a fair shot at the big time, even though others felt they didn't have a place in the Inkopolis Pro Circuit, what with the war against the Octarians being the entire inspiration behind Ink Battles and the IPC in the first place. But, it seemed the IPC was leaning into the arrival of the new Octo kids. They were introducing a new club this year called Unity, named for uniting Inklings and Octolings. Squidforce even changed their club's name to OctoSquidforce for inclusion's sake. The company's still called Squidforce, though.

"Here is the current draft picking order. Of course, it is not final," Pepper explained. On the screen appeared a graphic showing all 30 draft picks and which teams would be making them, at least for now. Some of the big clubs like Four-75s and GTW Memorial had more than one pick, while plenty of little clubs like Annaki Athletic and Club Centennial had already sold theirs.

Marcie kept watching the show for a while, but was slowly losing interest and beginning to tire once it became obvious Pepper Lakes was running out of things to talk about. It was the off-season after all. Marcie eventually decided to lie down and turn off the TV. It was close to 0100, and Marcie finally gave into her mounting exhaustion. She forgot to set an alarm.

* * *

**IPC 104 Draft Order (unofficial)**

1\. Four-75s (transferred from Grizzlies)

2\. Rainbow Nouveau

3\. GTW Memorial (transferred from Annaki Athletic)

4\. Plaza Originals

5\. Unity

6\. OctoSquidforce (transferred from Off the Hook!)

7\. Takaroka

8\. Splash Mob

9\. Skalop

10\. Club Calamari

11\. Rockenberg Heights

12\. Four-75s (transferred from Club Centennial)

13\. Coralsite Pro

14\. Krak-On Specialists

15\. Zekko

16\. Club Diamond

17\. Tentatek Franchise

18\. GTW Memorial

19\. Inkline

20\. Firefin

21\. Wolfpack

22\. Forge Pro Club

23\. Legacy IPC

24\. Trifecta IPC

25\. Zink

26\. Club Orange

27\. OctoSquidforce

28\. Four-75s

29\. Inkopolis Founders

30\. South-End Knights

* * *

**Inkopolis Pro Circuit clubs:**

Original Club*

Number of Championships in parenthesis (103 total)

**City Circuit**

1\. Inkopolis Founders* (20-time Champions, first ever champions)

One of the Original Four IPC Clubs named in honor of the founders of Inkopolis. Nicknamed "Founders"

2\. Club Orange* (13-time Champions)

One of the Original Four IPC Clubs named for the color fighters in the Great Turf War often took on in battle. Nicknamed "Club O"

3\. Four-75s* (37-time Champions)

One of the Original Four IPC Clubs named in honor of the legendary 75th Splatoon, renowned for their bravery during the Great Turf War. It is the most successful IPC club in history. Nicknamed "Fives"

4\. GTW Memorial* (12-time Champions)

One of the Original Four IPC Clubs named in honor of all who fought in the Great Turf War (GTW).

5\. Club Diamond

6\. South-End Knights (1-time Champions, most recent)

Owned by Sheldon of Ammo Knights. Nicknamed "Knights" or "Sheldon's Club"

7\. Firefin (1-time Champions)

8\. Wolfpack (5-time Champions)

9\. Legacy IPC (1-time Champions)

10\. OctoSquidforce (3-time Champions)

Formerly named Squidforce after the brand of the same name, added "Octo" to include newly arriving Octolings to the IPC. No Octolings currently compete for OctoSquidforce, but the name was changed anyway to reflect inclusivity.

11\. Trifecta IPC (2-time Champions)

Named for the elusive Trifecta Award, given to a team that leads an entire IPC season in Turf Inked, Opponents Splatted, and Most Wins. Trifecta IPC is the only club to achieve this honor. Previously known as Central Inkopolis Pro.

12\. Zink (1-time Champions)

13\. Zekko

14\. Forge Pro Club (1-time Champions)

15\. Inkline

**New Circuit**

16\. Krak-on Specialists (2-time Champions)

17\. Rockenberg Heights

18\. Splash Mob

19\. Plaza Originals

20\. Skalop

21\. Club Centennial

Named for being founded just before the 100th IPC season

22\. Takoroka

23\. Tentatek Franchise (1-time Champions)

24\. Annaki Athletic

25\. Unity

Newest IPC club. Founded in honor of Liberated Octolings being eligible to participate in the IPC alongside Inklings.

26\. Grizzlies, Sponsored by Grizzco

27\. Club Calamari

Owned by Callie and Marie of the Squid Sisters

28\. Coralsite Pro (3-time Champions)

Operated by Coralsite Academy, often featuring current and former Coralsite students.

29\. Rainbow Nouveau

Owned by former IPC star and fashion icon Sherry Lee.

30\. Off the Hook!

Owned by Pearl and Marina

* * *

**Monday, October 1st - 6 days before the Draft**

Marcie woke to a banging on her door.

She sat bolt upright, gasping from surprise. However, she felt an instant wave of annoyance at hearing the interrupter's voice. "Marce! It's, like, almost 1030! We gotta get to the IPC building before it gets too crowded!"

_Oh crap, _Marcie thought, shoving her covers away and bounding towards her closet. "I'm getting ready! Be out in a minute!" She quickly shed her sleepwear and put on a striped long sleeve shirt and shorts. She put on some slip-on shoes, grabbed her Zekko glasses, and burst through her front door.

There stood her blue-ponytailed friend Jamie, dressed in his usual hoodie and shorts. He sighed as Marcie emerged from her apartment. "Did you not set an alarm?" He asked.

"I did not," Marcie admitted, putting her glasses on. "Sorry."

Jamie just rolled his eyes and smirked his signature smirk. "You trying to sabotage me declaring for the draft? Wanna weed out your competition?"

Marcie scoffed as she closed her door. "You're a long ways away from being _my _competition."

"We both know I'm getting drafted before you," Jamie continued.

"I'd laugh if you weren't so serious," Marcie chuckled. They always had an element of competitiveness between them, even if they had been friends for years. Marcie was objectively the better of the two of them. She had reached Level 50 long before Jamie had, and even just reached Rank X in Tower Control the day before, which was a good look to impress the pro scouts. Although, Marcie had to owe a lot to Jamie. Their partnership had taken them to whole new levels.

They were called Team Sure-Fire for their fame among the Amateur realm for being the best duo in the game. When alongside one another, they worked incredibly well, sometimes edging out a win even if they had lackluster teammates. Their path to this year's draft had been one with a lot of hype behind it, but as Marcie noticed every night on IPC Tonight, they weren't notable enough to make the news.

The two headed down the nearby staircase and soon reached the ground floor. They emerged into the mid-morning sun, the familiar bustle and noise of Inkopolis Plaza hitting their ears. They started down the sidewalk, already able to see the silvery IPC building a few blocks away. Fellow pedestrians and cyclists roved along on the concrete as they exited the Plaza and made their way along 28th Street, with cars and trucks driving by on the road. The city was as vigorous as it could be, with Inklings, Octolings, Jellyfish, and many other a sea creature running their errands or enjoying time with friends. Marcie loved this city. It always felt so alive.

"So Four-75s has the number one pick," Jamie mentioned as they walked.

"I heard," Marcie said back. "Wouldn't it be awesome to play for them?"

"Maybe, so long as you don't mind all the crazy fans," he joked, fully aware of Marcie's admiration for the squad.

Marcie just scoffed, shaking her head. They continued on walking for a silent few moments before she brought up the question that had been on her mind for days. "Do you think we're good enough to be drafted?"

Jamie chuckled. "Well, yeah. Why else would we be signing up for the draft?"

"I mean, like...we're great as a team, but...unless a club with two picks gets lucky and gets both of us, would a team want just one of us?"

Jamie took a moment to think about that. "Well...I don't know. I am kinda bad when you aren't my teammate." He offered a halfhearted chuckle. "We'll see."

"What if we're drafted to different teams?" She asked.

"I don't know. It would be a change," he said with a shrug.

Marcie hummed with uncertainty. She always tried to stay positive about this, especially since she worked so hard alongside Jamie to reach this level of skill, but she could never keep doubt from creeping in. She was pretty good on her own, but she only really seemed to stand out as a team with Jamie. That served them well in League Battles, but if Marcie really wanted to endear herself to some of the top clubs in the IPC, she knew she'd have to be impressive on her own, which had been hit or miss up to this point.

They were nearing the building, and even from a block away they could see all the people near the building entrance. There were TV cameras and reporters, along with plenty of Amateurs looking to get registered for the draft, just as Jamie was. In that moment, Marcie was glad she had already registered back when registration first opened. Then again, she'd have to wait in this line anyway.

"Oh, boy," Jamie huffed as they approached.

"Yeah," Marcie agreed. They began to weave through people as they neared the entrance—two large double doors flanking a revolving door. Above the entrance, emblazoned in shiny steel, was "Inkopolis Pro Circuit Main Headquarters."

The two Amateurs made it through the revolving door, only to run right into the end of the queue for registration. Outlined by velvet ropes, a long line of Inklings, with a few Octolings here and there, snaked from wall to wall, all leading to the front desk. Dozens of voices echoed off the white and blue walls. The ceiling was adorned with contemporary light fixtures, and the walls displayed the logos for every IPC club, with the logos for the Original Four on the back wall above the front desk; Inkopolis Founders, Club Orange, GTW Memorial, and of course, Four-75s were all represented.

"This is gonna take hours," Jamie murmured.

"That's a lot of people," Marcie agreed. "Is this really how many there are going to be in the draft?"

"Plenty of them are gonna get rejected," a voice behind them spoke, startling Jamie and Marcie. They turned around to see an Octoling girl, seemingly just now getting behind them in line. "Sorry to scare you two."

"No, it's fine," Jamie chuckled nervously, pushing back his hood that had jumped onto his head when he flinched.

"Why do you say they'll be rejected?" Marcie asked, not able to suppress the quiver in her voice. The Octoling had a very bright pair of purple eyes, regarding her as if analyzing her.

"Because a lot of them forget the requirements," the Octoling explained while adjusting the collar of her pink polo shirt. Her pink hair tentacles occasionally obscured her face, forcing her to push them aside. Her skin was like the dark bronze of a South Shores sunset. "Reaching Level 50 is just one requirement," she continued. "You also have to have been in at least 500 Ranked Battles. Some of the kids here probably haven't reached that."

"You know the rules pretty well," Marcie told her.

"For an Octoling," the girl finished for her.

"I wasn't gonna say that." Marcie felt her face heat up a bit.

"Thanks, I know you weren't." The Octoling girl chuckled, then reached a hand out. "My name's Angel."

_What a name, _Marcie thought as she returned the gesture and shook the girl's hand. "Hi, Angel. I'm Marcie."

Angel smiled at her, and Marcie couldn't help but return the favor.

"I'm Jamie," the boy said as Angel let Marcie's hand go. They shook hands. "Are you here to register?"

"I already have, actually." Angel explained. "I'm just here to meet a friend." Their hand shake ended.

"I'm registered, too," Marcie said, then elbowed Jamie. "I'm just here so this guy doesn't go crazy waiting in this line."

"I'll go crazy anyway," Jamie claimed, snickering. "I'll start throwing the velvet ropes around...unless Marcie runs and gets me a smoothie right now."

"Have fun going crazy, then," Marcie deadpanned.

Angel laughed. "You two are funny. Maybe we should keep in touch."

Marcie was about to say _Yes, we definitely should! _But Jamie spoke first. "You think so?"

"Why not?" The Octoling shrugged. "We'll all be going to the Draft Academy in a few days. It might be nice to already know a couple of people by then."

"Oh, yeah. The Draft Academy," Jamie murmured lowly. Marcie shared his sentiments. The Draft Academy was notoriously brutal. Every Pro Club sent scouts to analyze every candidates' skills in the most difficult drills and competitions imaginable. Marcie agreed that they ought to find some allies, especially if one of them would be Angel.

Marcie wasn't even going to kid herself. This Octoling named Angel was really cute and she wanted to ask her out, like, right now. But she settled for swapping phone numbers for the time being.

"Awesome," Angel said as she finished typing Jamie's number into her phone. "I guess I'll see you two around. I ought to find my friend." She then moved past them, waving and shooting Marcie a smile. Marcie smiled back, waving as she left.

"Well, what do you know," Jamie chuckled. "We already made a friend."

"I like her," Marcie said, still watching as Angel navigated her way through the crowd.

"Me too, I guess. She's cool," Jamie agreed, only to realize what Marcie meant. "Ohhh, you mean you _like _her."

"Yeah," Marcie affirmed, turning away once Angel was no longer visible. She looked at Jamie. "Do you think I have a chance with her?"

Jamie chuckled. "Tell me something. Do you think of me as an expert on romance?"

"You're right, never mind." Marcie waved her hand in dismissal. Since they arrived, the line had moved about two meters. "I just think...with the way she recited all the requirements to signing up for the Draft, she must be really smart when it comes to strategy and tactics. I mean, she could be a great ally," she shrugged, looking at Jamie. "Right?"

"If you want to go out to dinner with her, just say so," Jamie laughed.

"I do, I just mean...strategically."

"You don't need a strategy for everything," Jamie told her. "Before you do anything, you might wanna find out if she's even single."

Marcie's shoulders dropped at the insinuation that Angel might already be dating someone. Jamie recognized the look on her face, the way the girl's brow furrowed and her mouth turned down in a displeased sneer. This was the same face she'd make after losing a Tower Control Battle in overtime. This was enough of a sign to indicate just how serious Marcie was about getting with the Octoling, despite only talking to her for, like, two minutes. _I'll never understand how this girl works, _Jamie thought.

"I'll just ask her later," Marcie said, still sporting the same displeased expression. "I'll text her and ask."

"You do you," Jamie told her, shuffling along with the slowly moving line. "So say you actually do go out with her. What if you and her get drafted to different clubs? Then what?"

"We'd figure out something," Marcie declared.

"What makes you think she'd even be interested in you?" Jamie asked.

"Okay, ouch," Marice shot Jamie a look. _The _look.

Jamie held a hand up and closed his eyes. "Okay, that didn't come out right."

"I'll fight you," Marcie threatened. She was kidding, but she also kinda wasn't.

"I mean what if she isn't looking for a relationship?" Jamie corrected himself.

"I can take rejection," Marcie claimed.

"That's a lie," Jamie accused. "You wanted to go vandalize Coralsite Academy after they didn't accept your application."

"I just wanted to toilet paper some trees," Marcie told him, crossing her arms. "I can handle it if Angel doesn't wanna date me."

"You wanna toilet paper her if she doesn't?" Jamie joked.

"What does that even mean?"

Their banter continued as the line continued moving at a sea snail's pace. The minutes and hours dragged by until they finally reached the front desk, four clerks busily helping people get registered.

"What did she say, 500 Ranked Battles?" Jamie asked Marcie.

The naturally orange-tentacled girl shrugged as she adjusted her glasses, leaning to the side from how tired she was of standing. "Yeah. You've got that many, I'm sure."

"But what if I don't?" Jamie asked as one of the clerks called "next."

"Then you're the one who will have to deal with rejection," Marcie quipped as they approached the clerk on the left end of the front desk.

The clerk was an older woman with a short hairstyle, like a ponytail but stubbier. Her white tentacles were a stark contrast to her dark skin tone. She peered sleepily at the two kids as they stepped up to her desk. "Hello," she murmured as if she'd said it in the same tone a thousand times today, which she probably had.

"Hi," Jamie greeted. "I'm registering."

"Are you now?" the clerk asked as an annoyed joke as she slid him a iNKpad tablet. A search screen titled "Amateur Log In" was displayed. "Search for yourself on there, enter your personal info, and I'll let you know if you're eligible or not."

Marcie had gone through this already. Just as she had, Jamie would enter his name, his TurfID number, date of birth, blah blah blah, and submit the form. If he were approved, which he ought to be, he'd be handed an access pass for the Draft Academy.

Sure enough, after the blue-haired boy tapped "Finalize and Apply," the entire screen turned green with a little white check mark in the center.

"You've been registered for the IPC draft, congrats, have a good day," the clerk declared in her constant monotone voice and handed Jamie a green plastic card on a red lanyard. Jamie took it and thanked the clerk. The two were then on their way.

"I got in!" Jamie declared jubilantly as they walked down the sidewalk. He stared at his card, which looked identical to Marcie's, except for the number on it: 157. Jamie was the 157th person to sign up for the draft. Marcie's number was 3.

"That's a lot of competition," Marcie said of Jamie's number.

"We can handle it," Jamie said confidently, obviously riding high off of the big victory of signing up for the thing.

Marcie sighed and nodded, which Jamie caught. "Nervous?" he asked.

"Maybe a bit. It's only, like, my life's one and only goal," Marcie said sarcastically.

"We'll still do great," Jamie said certainly, and Marcie wanted to get behind his enthusiasm, but the numbers were too much to doubt. 157, certainly more, were going to be at the Draft Academy. 30 of them would be drafted to a Pro club. Maybe a few others would be offered smaller contracts by clubs afterward, but there was never a guarantee of that. Marcie would have to do more than work together with Jamie to carry a team of Amateurs to a Clam Blitz win or bag a decent six splats with a splatcharger in a Splat Zones. She would have to prove herself to be one of the best in this draft class, on her own, and hope to hear "Marcie Tyler" announced at the draft in just a week's time.

Marcie had to accept a reality. Unless there was some sort of miracle or coincidence, she wasn't going to be on the same team as Jamie.

"Wanna get a Seanwich?" Jamie asked.

"Please no," Marcie responded. "Let's go to Ghost Town Café." It only took a pop idol once calling Inkopolis Plaza a ghost town for a restaurant there to open with the name. Sure, the Plaza wasn't as busy as it once was, but slimy little hipsters like Jamie and Marcie liked to stick around. It was more of a dining and shopping district now.

They continued their walk, passing by other Inklings and Octolings seemingly bound for IPC HQ. Every single one of them made Marcie feel even more nervous. All she wanted at that moment was a nigiri plate and maybe some shrimp. Yeah, that would calm the nerves, maybe get her mind off the daunting task ahead.

"So when are you gonna text Octo Angel?" Jamie asked her.

Marcie's heart dropped, and she put a hand to her forehead. _Great, another thing to worry about. Screw you, Jamie Anderson. Screw you._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Wednesday, October 3rd - 4 days before the Draft**

**Draft Academy Day 1**

They were told to meet at Goby Arena, and even with all the preparation and practice she had gotten the day prior, Marcie still felt all too nervous. As she and Jamie approached the arena, along with about a dozen other prospects in front of them, she kept wiping her glasses off over and over, the irrational fear of her glasses being dirty during a battle in full effect at the moment.

"I am so hyped," Jamie said, even though his shaking gave it away anyway. "This is our big chance. Like, for real."

It was a bit windy outside the forum, so their access badges around their necks were waving in the breeze, spinning on their swivels. The tree and flower bushes along the walkways shook. "Are you nervous at all?" Marcie asked.

"Oh, I'm terrified," Jamie admitted, shaking his head. "But, as I said, I am hyped."

"I'm nervous, too. Minus the hype," Marcie said, taking some comfort in the fact Jamie wasn't feeling that confident either. Did all the current Pros feel this way when they first arrived at the Draft Academy? "I feel like I don't know what to expect."

"No one here knows what to expect, unless they've done the Academy before," Jamie said.

Marcie hadn't thought about that. The rules were that if you registered for the Draft, but then you went undrafted and didn't get signed on to a Pro Club, you were banned from registering for the Draft the next year. The rule was in place so there was an element of risk to registering as to avoid having every single eligible Amateur sign up every year.

Jamie reminding her of the rule did not make her feel better at all. "So if we don't get drafted, we have to go another two years until we can try again."

Jamie took a deep breath, groaning as he exhaled. "Yep. Terrified."

They reached the entrance, comprised of a dozen glass doors. As they entered, they walked under an LED marquee advertising the Draft. Spectators weren't allowed at the venue, which was a good thing in Marcie's eyes.

"Where did your girlfriend tell us to meet again?" Jamie asked.

Marcie winced at him calling Angel _her girlfriend. _He was joking but he almost sounded like he wasn't. "She's not my girlfriend," Marcie protested. "We've only sent each other a few texts."

"I know, I'm kidding," he said, though he seemed a bit annoyed with having to meet up with Angel. He had said about ten times since they had met a few days ago that he had a bad feeling about her. He swore it wasn't because she was an Octoling, just because she had seemed almost too friendly at IPC HQ. He thought she might try to sabotage other Amateurs so she could get herself drafted before them. All of this was baseless, and Marcie had been quick to call him out on that, but Jamie retained his suspicion, even if it was, by his own admission, kinda dumb.

"She said to meet near the doors to section 208," Marcie finally answered his question.

"Okay," he said as they swam through the crowd, which was following along a path outlined by velvet ropes. The corridor just beyond the actual arena was mostly concrete with bricks along the walls. Closed off concession stands lined both sides of the large hall that encircled the building. They just passed the gate to section 216.

"At least she went out of the way for this meeting," Jamie said. "I'm getting claustrophobic." By the time they passed section 210 they had left the designated path leading the other Amateurs down the familiar flight of stairs towards the battle stage entrance.

Marcie sighed and tapped Jamie on the shoulder, then straightened her striped shirt. "Do I look alright?" she asked him.

"You look stunning," he told her, nodding with his eyebrows up.

"Seriously though," Marcie murmured, annoyed with his insincerity. "I like her. I want to look good."

"You look fine," Jamie promised, far more sincere.

"But fine isn't good enough," Marcie complained.

"This isn't a dance. You don't have to look like pop star."

"I know, I just..." Marcie sighed, adjusting her glasses. "Let's just find Angel."

"There you two are."

Marcie and Jamie turned and yelped at the Octoling who had just appeared behind them. Marcie's first thought when she saw Angel was _sneaking up behind people must be her thing. _"Angel!" Marcie greeted.

"Good to see you two again," the Octoling said with a nod. She was dressed in an Annaki tank top and leggings, her magenta hair tentacles pulled back in a ponytail. "Ready for the Academy?"

"Oh yeah," Jamie said with a confident nod, but Marcie was much slower to respond.

Angel chuckled in Marcie's direction. "Don't worry. I'm nervous, too."

Marcie felt a small bit of warmth in her chest at hearing Angel admit that, though she felt awkward for being so obviously on edge. "Hey, uhh..." she got the urge to start asking Angel questions about herself, but she quickly reminded herself that this was not a date. This was day one of a three day combine that would designate her entire future as a ink slinger. "Do you think the others here are nervous, too?" Marcie asked.

"I'm sure they are," Angel nodded, glancing towards the line of Squid and Octo kids still making their way into the venue. "Just gotta stay confident, you know?"

Marcie nodded in agreement, even though if she could be confident right now, she would have made it so, but it wasn't that easy. All she wanted at the moment was a few minutes to sit in a quiet room and collect her thoughts, maybe formulate a course of action for the next three days, even though she had no idea what to expect...Now she felt even worse.

"Hey, I forgot to ask at IPC HQ," Jamie said, eyeing Marcie for a moment as he spoke to Angel. "What's your weapon preference?"

Angel raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "You scouting me?"

Jamie stepped back, waving his arms. "Oh. No no no, I was just curious."

Angel chuckled, shooting Marcie a smirk. "You'll see my preference once we get to fighting."

Marcie felt a lump form in her throat at the glint in Angel's eye. She looked almost...devious, like she knew something that they didn't.

They heard what sounded like a school bell ring.

_"All Draft Academy participants, please gather in the staging area. You ought to know where that is."_

The three glanced at one another. "Well," Angel shrugged. "Guess it's that time."

Marcie sighed, rubbing her sleeve on her eyeglass lenses once again. "Okay, let's do this." She let her hand fall to her side, only to see that Angel had already walked away. "What? Where..." She turned in time to see her walking away, the Octoling's ponytail teasingly waving back at her.

Jamie leaned over to speak in Marcie's ear. "She's suspicious, I'm telling you."

Marcie felt a chill throughout her body from Jamie speaking directly in her ear. "Stop with your conspiracy theories about Angel," she scolded before following Angel's path. "Let's get there before they start."

Jamie scoffed and followed her, crossing his arms and muttering under his breath. "Just because you're freaking out doesn't mean you have to be all snappy."

They returned to the aisle of velvet ropes and followed it down a staircase to the staging area. It was a plain-looking room that was sort of a locker room/waiting room. There were lockers usually used by Amateur Turf Warriors to put away their belongings and other weapons while battling, and seating areas for those waiting for their next battle. But at the moment, the room was more crowded than Marcie or Jamie had ever seen it. All of the seats were occupied, and the rest of the free space was filled with Squids and Octos standing. Marcie and Jamie could barely cross the threshold into the room before almost bumping into people.

Jamie leaned over to Marcie and murmured, "This isn't exactly the best place for this meeting thing. Like, couldn't we have done this in the stands of the twenty thousand seat arena?"

Marcie sighed. "Thanks for the insight, Mister Obvious," Marcie quipped.

"Welcome, everyone!" A booming voice spoke through a megaphone, startling quite a few of the people in the room, including Marcie and Jamie. They looked around, but the room was too crowded for them to find the source of the voice. "Today, you will begin your first steps toward a potential career in the Inkopolis Pro Circuit. My name is Will Willis, the Vice President of Recruiting for the IPC. I'm going to run through some ground rules for this event, and then I will turn it over to my colleague."

"Can you see him?" Jamie asked.

"Not at all," Marcie shook her head, standing on her toes but having no luck in locating the so-called Vice President of Recruiting.

"The IPC is proud to host this monumental event in association with Squidforce, the overseer of Amateur Turf War, and we once again want to thank Goby Arena for hosting us once again."

"This must be on TV," Jamie whispered to Marcie. "I feel like this is the same thing they say before every Draft Academy on TV."

"This is going to be on TV?" Marcie asked, shooting Jamie a glare.

"Not the training stuff. It's kept private for only the scouts to see, remember?"

Marcie sighed and nodded. "Right."

"And now," Will Willia uttered. "Without further ado, I will now turn things over to the Head of the Draft Academy and President of the IPC Scouting Association, Frank Lo, Head Scout for GTW Memorial."

Marcie and Jamie glanced at one another. "Frank Lo?" Marcie asked him.

Jamie shrugged, only to flinch at the new, very grating voice that spoke. "Alright, you kids." A few of the participants murmured in unease. "I am going to break the tough stuff to you right off the bat."

"The tough stuff," Marcie chuckled. "Yay."

"This is the most we have ever had registered for the Draft. There are one hundred and eighty of you here," Frank Lo said, his voice rumbling like a Dynamo Roller that's run out of ink. Several voices chattered at the reveal of the attendance. "Therefore, this is far more than I and the 29 other scouts here can analyze, so today, Day One, we will be sending one hundred of you home."

Even more unsettled muttering followed that reveal, and Marcie and Jamie were left frozen. _One hundred of us won't even make it to Day 2, _Marcie thought to herself. _Oh my cod._

"That will narrow the field to eighty, which is a number we can definitely handle," Frank Lo continued. "So for those of you who signed up just because 'I dunno, I guess I'll give it a shot, I probably won't get drafted, I'm just curious about what it's like,' well," The man chuckled at his own high-pitch impression of a teenager. "You should really just leave now."

Everyone in the room looked around to see if anyone would leave, but it seemed like they all were staying put.

"Great," The Head Scout for GTW mumbled. "So, let's get to why you're all here. You're here to prove yourself, well we're going to get down to that with some ol' Ink Battles. Does that sound good?"

A few of the participants shouted "Yeah!" with far too much enthusiasm, while others seemed to be trying to shake off their jitters. Marcie noticed one purple-haired Inkling boy nervously fidgeting with what looked like a half-put together Autobomb. Kind of an odd thing to bring to the Draft Academy.

"Alright. We'll start off easy," Lo said. "We will randomly select participants, randomly assign weapons, and randomly assign battle types until everyone has had a battle. There will be 23 battles in total, all of them Ranked modes, as you Amateurs call them. Four of you lucky squishes get to go twice. This will take about two hours, so for those of you who have to wait around, I recommend warming up. Now, for battle number one..."

Jamie looked over at Marcie. "How much you wanna bet we're gonna be waiting to the very end of this?"

"Or if one of us is gonna go twice," Marcie retorted. She took a deep breath. "I just hope I don't have to go right away."

"Participant numbers 108, 46, 150, and 9, you're on one team," Frank Lo announced. "And facing them will be the team of numbers 109, 13, 3, and 70."

Marcie's heart sank when she heard her number, 3. She felt like falling over. "Seriously?" She groaned, putting a hand to her face.

Jamie stepped over and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "It's alright, just remember what this is. It's just another battle, no special objectives, just score points, you know?"

Marcie sighed, looking at her friend. "Yeah, but this is my first impression, I don't want to end up going home after one day."

Jamie scoffed. "You're Marcie Freakin' Tyler. Come on."

The girl chuckled, shaking her head. "That dumb nickname isn't gonna help me."

"I'm just saying you've come this far and achieved so much, I mean...you were born ready for this. Come on," Jamie reiterated, smiling at her.

Marcie huffed another laugh, but nodded. "Okay, better. Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jamie shook his head and waved her off. "Now go cook some fools. I'll try to save you a seat if I can find one in here."

Marcie smiled at him, then turned to try to navigate her way to the entrance to the battle stage. She squirmed her way through the crowd until reaching the open doorway that led out to Goby Arena, the vast open dome and sea of seats laid out before her.

She also encountered Angel. "Hey, Marcie," She greeted, stepping up to her. She was smiling, though admittedly appeared to be a bit nervous. "What number are you?"

"Three," she answered as they both began to walk out into the battle stage along with six others.

"Oh," Angel chuckled. "I'm 108. Guess we'll be on opposing sides to start, huh?"

_SERIOUSLY?_ Marcie had to do her best to hold back a groan. Not only was she in the first group, but she'd have to battle against her newfound crush, too? _How could this possibly get worse?_

As they began heading down the staircase that would eventually lead them to their spawn points, attendants stood by the entrance to the stage, handing out weapons. As Marcie walked by, she was handed...an N'Zap 85. At least it wasn't the worst weapon she could have asked for but...she didn't like short range shooters.

Meanwhile, Angel was handed a Slosher. She spun it on her finger a few times, before flipping it and catching it with ease. She waved at Marcie as she went on her way with her team to their spawn. "See you out there," she said before turning away.

Marcie tried to stay calm, even though it was so very obvious that this battle would not be like anything else she had ever experienced. Sure, she had battled in Goby Arena before, and the battle stage was no different from what it always looked like, but the fact that it was so late at night, she was using a weapon she never used, and the only people in the stands were thirty representatives from the thirty Pro Clubs, all there to judge her, along with every one else...it was completely different from what she was used to.

She had hoped she would calm down by the time she reached the spawn point, but she hadn't. She could see the scouts, all spread around the perimeter of the arena intheir own sections, laptops and video cameras set up.

_"Attention," _a voice over the sound system spoke. _"The following battle is a Tower Control battle. All Amateur rules apply. Win by points or 100 for KO. Overtime if necessary."_

A few crew members placed a tower in the center of the course. The battle course was set up to accommodate every type of ranked battle. The outlines for Splat Zones were set up, though switched off. The goals for both Rainmaker and Clam Blitz were in place, but they wouldn't interfere in a Tower Control fight.

In a final attempt to focus, Marcie began to think up strategy. The key to a successful Tower Control battle is winning the opening gambit. If her team could get a numbers advantage early, they could advance the tower, perhaps far enough for a permanent lead or even a 100-to-zero KO. Her team just had to utilize their weapons...

Marcie hadn't even checked what weapons her teammates were using.

_"Battle start in ten seconds," _the announcer spoke.

Her team's color was yellow. Her teammates consisted of a Inkling boy with a Splat Roller, an Inkling girl with a Squiffer, and an Octoling boy with a Splattershot Pro. _Okay, it would be best for me to take the tower while the others provide support. The person on the tower should have a high-rate weapon like my N'Zap. I just hope our charger knows what she's_—"

A horn sounded. The battle had already started!

"Carp!" Marcie cursed as her team took off ahead of her, leaving her behind. The boy with the roller glanced back at her and yelled for her to come on, but it took Marcie a moment before her mind actually caught up with the situation. She shook her head to clear it and dove into her team's ink in squid-form, quickly swimming ahead towards the center of the stage.

She chose to go the left route from spawn, since she was already too far behind to get to the tower first. She figured she would sneak to the side and try to catch some of her opponents off guard while they were focused on the tower, but—

_"Pink team has the tower," _the announcer proclaimed.

_Already? _Marcie had just leaped from the Inkrail to the left side path. Now that the other team had the tower...actually, she could work with it. A quick glance up at her Splatwatch told her two of her teammates, the girl with the Squiffer and the boy with the Splattershot Pro, had been splatted. She advanced with caution, hoping none of her opponents would notice—

"Hey, Marcie," Angel quipped as she leaped from behind the corner, sparing a wink before hurling a bucket's worth of pink ink at her.

Marcie was easily splatted and was sent back to the spawn.

_Dang it! _Marcie mentally smacked herself in the face for losing focus. _How did she know I was there? _She soon emerged from her spawn just in time to hear her opponents had reached the first checkpoint. She sprinted out from the spawn, swimming toward the tower. She chose to abandon her sneaking plan. Priority number one was stopping their opponents' advance.

She took the middle path, up the wall to the platform in the center of her team's half of the stage. The tower was to her right, and whoever was on it was hiding in their ink. Marcie charged forward, pulling the trigger and sending a flurry of ink globs toward the tower. She muddied up the tower with her team's ink enough to reveal the positions of two opposing inklings. They both turned their weapons, a couple of Splattershots, toward her, but from behind them, Marcie's teammate with the roller dropped in and flattened them both.

"Nice!" Marcie cheered for her teammate, who flashed a thumbs up. Now she felt she was getting into the zone. Her team had the tower, two opponents splatted. This was their chance to get some points back.

Marcie almost forgot about Angel.

Just as Marcie dropped from the platform to the ground in the center area to defend the tower and ink the surrounding area, she saw her again. Angel was in a shoot-out with Marcie's teammate with the Splattershot Pro, who was getting cornered behind on one of the basketball goals. As much as Marcie did not want to attack her, she knew it was important to take out any threat to her team's advance. Marcie raced over, glad to see Angel had her back to her, and Marcie took aim and fired at her in a single quick burst. She splatted Angel within a second, saving her teammate in the process.

"Thank you," The boy with the SSPro said to her before diving into their ink. Marcie then turned her attention to the tower, which was still occupied by the boy with the roller as it crossed the midway point. Her team's score began to tick away.

Her team managed to maintain their advance at full strength until reaching the first checkpoint. That was when the other team began to counteract their gambit. Roller boy got splatted, forcing Squiffer girl to get on the tower, but seeing how inexperienced she was with a charger, she was cooked soon after. Marcie knew it was up to her now to get to the tower to maintain their advance, but she saw Angel once again, and this time, she stood on the tower, taking it back for her team.

They made eye contact for a split second before Marcie thought better of attacking and retreated to regroup with her soon-to-respawn allies. SSPro boy did not seem to have the same idea. He tried charging the tower and managed to get on it, but he was quickly dispatched by Angel and her bucket.

Marcie found an out-of-the-way spot and Superjumped back to the spawn just as her teammates were beginning to emerge. Her leadership instincts kicked in as she began to relay strategy. "Stay above them on higher platforms, try to splat the ones off the tower before the ones on it, and don't get into a shoot-out on the tower! We can't afford trade-offs right now!"

Her teammates seemed to take note of her points, heeding her advice about taking higher ground. Marcie raced ahead to see the tower approaching their first checkpoint, and she knew it wouldn't stay there long. Angel's team had a narrow lead, but it would soon grow.

Both teams were at full strength, and they clashed just as the tower passed the checkpoint.

Marcie chose to go down the right side and found a spot on a high platform to rain down on the tower. She set her sights on an opponent wielding a Splattershot who was slowly trailing the tower, and she fired toward the Inkling girl. She evaded and returned fire, but Marcie was high enough to be out of range. The opponent foolishly maintained her efforts to fight back against Marcie, and after a few more seconds, Marcie splatted her.

Marcie spared a glance to see her team was down to three after the Squiffer got splatted, but they had a three-to-two advantage at the moment. Marcie decided to set her sights on the tower itself now—

An opposing player sneaked up behind her. Before Marcie could even think to wonder how her team had allowed someone to get behind them, she dodged the boy's initial splat attempt. She fired back, knowing she had had no time to refill her ink tank after splatting the girl on the ground, but she couldn't run from this dual. Her opponent dodge rolled every now and then and tried to catch her off guard with his Dualies, but Marcie was a quick aim and was able to land enough hits on him to splat him. Now Marcie could make her way to the tower, which was just beginning to near the second checkpoint.

She knew Angel was on the tower, and Marcie figured she had no other choice but to attack head on. Defending the tower alone was never easy, regardless of what weapon the defender used.

Marcie shot toward the tower and forced Angel to show herself. She emerged and began slinging ink at Marcie. The tower continued to glide toward the checkpoint, so Marcie had trouble maintaining a constant rain of ink on Angel and the tower. She was running out of ink but she had no time to waste, or else she could miss this chance to stop her opponents' advance. Marcie charged forward, knowing that she had to splat Angel as quickly as possible.

She swam up the side of the tower and landed on it's platform. She realized that she was ignoring her own instructions to her team about not getting into shoot-outs on the tower, but it was too late to turn back. She began firing as Angel tried to counterattack, but they were both missing because of one another's movements, almost revolving around the pole in the center of the tower at the same time. Marcie turned on her heal to suddenly change direction as the tower moved through a narrow path flanked by high walls. Marcie was quick enough, and she had an off-guard Angel prone to attack.

But Marcie had run out of ink.

Angel turned toward her as Marcie's N'Zap clicked repeatedly, refusing to fire. Angel reared her bucket back, about to splat her. Marcie panicked, knowing she was two hits away from getting sent back to the spawn and giving up even more points. She had to do something evade.

The first thing to come to mind happened to work. But it was also against the rules.

In a split-second impulse, Marcie stepped toward Angel just as she fired her first wave of pink ink towards her. The feeling of enemy ink covering her was awful, but Marcie was already in motion. Before Angel could ready another sling of her bucket, Marcie lowered her head forward and shoved her shoulder against Angel. The Octoling yelped in surprise as she was knocked backwards and fell off the tower.

Without thinking twice, Marcie dipped into a bit of her own ink to refill her tank just enough to almost immediately emerge with enough to splat Angel. Marcie aimed at the Octoling, but just before being splatted, Marcie realized the expression Angel's face. She looked almost...betrayed. Marcie felt inclined to say sorry, but she splatted Angel instead. Before getting dispatched, Angel yelled something. It sounded like she had tried to yell "Foul!"

_"Yellow team has taken the tower," _came the announcer.

Marcie looked around for a moment as the tower redirected course. She was still among the high walls. The judge must not have seen her shove Angel. If they had, Marcie's team certainly would have been penalized for her intentionally shoving an opponent.

Marcie's blood ran hot as she realized she had just gotten away with a very illegal action. For a moment, she wondered if she should fess up to it, but...she couldn't out herself at a time like this, at the Draft Academy. If there was one thing worse than having a bad first battle, it would be committing a penalty, which was rare even in Amatuer fights.

Marcie had to keep it to herself, at least right now. She had to win her first battle, or risk being one of the one hundred to go home after Day 1. She could deal with whatever repercussions came her way later. For now, she maintained control of the tower, hoping her team could coordinate a successful counter advance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

On that same advance, Marcie remained on the tower all the way to the opposing goal. Her team won by KO. Nothing could have gone better.

Well, except for Angel confronting her.

"That was cheap," Angel said mere moments after the tower reached the goal and a whistle ended the battle. She had been firing up at her, desperately trying to splat her, but as Marcie's team's score ticked down to zero, Angel threw her bucket to the ground in frustration. Now she stood just below Marcie, looking up with her arms crossed.

"I-I'm sorry," Marcie responded, not knowing how to act. The true gravity of her actions was just beginning to descend on her. She had blatantly broken the rules by shoving the pretty girl she had a _crush _on off the tower, and that lapse in fairness had led to her victory. That...really did not look good.

"You're sorry? Then report yourself to the official," Angel said, beginning to turn away.

Marcie struggled to fashion a response, instead jumping off the tower and running after Angel. "Wait, Angel, you don't understand. I didn't mean to."

Angel turned and looked at her once again, that same look of betrayal she had sported the moment after Marcie had shoved her etched on her face. "You didn't mean to? You just happened to, what, lose your balance at a really convenient time?"

Marcie hung her head and sighed, realizing just how stupid her excuse sounded. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. I was unfair, but...winning this first battle was really important to me. I don't want to get sent home after day one."

"Oh, yeah? Well, losing certainly didn't help me much," Angel said, shaking her head. "I'm glad I found out how selfish you are now than later. To think I was actually in to you."

Marcie felt an instant lump in her throat. "In to me? Like..."

"Don't worry about it now. Congrats on the win." She turned away once again. "Good luck on Day 2."

Marcie watched as Angel headed back to the staging room, feeling freezing cold despite the intense battle that had just ended.

_I...really, really screwed up._

"Dang, she told you," a voice behind her said.

"Wha?!" Marcie turned toward the source of the voice. It was her teammate with the Squiffer.

The girl shrugged. She wore a maroon hoodie and shorts. "I mean, I sucked pretty bad during that, but...dang, you got shot down."

Marcie facepalmed and waved her hand. "Please, just...don't rub it in."

"You should probably tell the official," she said.

Marcie stiffened. "Tell the official? That would negate our victory."

"Yeah, but..." the girl shrugged again. "You did break the rules. Integrity, you know?"

Marcie nodded, but she immediately thought of the consequences. If she fessed up to _cheating_, there was no way she'd survive the first cut. She would watch the Draft from her apartment while crying into a tub of Inkopolitan ice cream.

"My name's Thea, by the way," the girl said, extending her hand.

Marcie sighed and shook her hand. "Marcie." She stepped away. "I need to find someone."

"Well, alright," Thea said. "Good luck."

Marcie turned and ran back to the waiting room, dropping her N'Zap as she ran up the path to a slightly less crowded staging room. She scanned the area and found Jamie sitting on a bench toward the corner. She went over to him.

He looked up at her and smiled. "Hey, nice battle! You looked like a real profreshio—wah—!"

Marcie grabbed his wrist and pulled him along toward the concourse. "I need to talk to you."

"Well, alright, you could've just said so," he stammered as he followed her back out to the arena concourse. They found an out-of-the-way alcove behind a trash bin. "So, what's up?"

"I cheated," Marcie deadpanned.

Jamie blinked. "Cheated? How?"

Marcie sighed. "Angel and I were on the tower. I ran out of ink, so I panicked, and I shoved her off." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm so stupid."

"You shoved her?" Jamie asked. "And the referee didn't see?"

"No," Marcie shook her head. "After the battle, Angel confronted me, basically told me she liked me before but now thinks I'm selfish for cheating to win." She rubbed her eyes. "I want to the tell the official but I don't want to get sent home. This is my dream, Jamie, my life's work. I don't want to have to wait two years to have another chance."

Jamie reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Marce, listen. You're overthinking this. It's simple." He sighed. "You tell the official."

"But..." she struggled to respond. "But I'll out myself as a cheater—"

"You didn't cheat. You panicked," Jamie corrected. "The pressure of today is effecting us all. A mistake like that will happen. It's okay."

"I don't want to get sent home," Marcie told him.

"Well how would you feel if you made it all the way through to the draft, knowing you did so by virtue of a missed penalty on Day 1?" Jamie stepped a bit closer to her. "Marcie, you are easily one of the best here. You don't need to rely on taking advantage of this to make it. You can fess up, and you can still advance."

Marcie tried to swallow down the lump in her throat. "And if I don't?"

Jamie sighed and let go of her shoulders. "Well, then at least you were honest. I know Angel would appreciate it."

Marcie's breath hitched as her mind reached a realization. She didn't want to go all the way through and be successful knowing what she did in that battle. She would much rather fail, if it meant proving to Angel, and herself, that she was trustworthy, that she was honest. Even if she ended up getting cut, at least she could sleep at night knowing she did her best and was honest when she messed up.

She sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll go to the official."

Jamie nodded and smiled at her. "I knew you would."

Marcie smiled and began on her way to find the referee. The official usually sat on the sidelines near the center of the battle course, and sure enough, as Marcie began to walk her way down one of the sections of the stadium, she saw the referee sitting in the front row of the stands, wearing the customary beige referee shirt. The woman drank from a water bottle as the next battle was about to begin on the course.

Marcie approached slowly from behind, clearing her throat to get the official's attention. "Uhm, excuse me."

The woman turned, looking up at her with dark brown eyes. "Yes?"

"Uhm..." Marcie struggled to continue. She had never reported herself to a referee. She wasn't sure if she had ever even spoken to an official before. "I'm Marcie Tyler, I was just in that Tower battle."

"Yes, you were the one you rode the tower solo all that way," the official nodded. "Impressive."

Marcie gritted her teeth, not liking the praise considering what she had to report. "Actually, that's what I'm here to talk about, uhm...I'm here to report myself for...I, uh, I committed a foul th-that wasn't called."

The official raised her eyebrows. "Is that so?"

Marcie sighed and nodded, holding her hands behind her back. "Yeah—I mean yes ma'am. I...intentionally shoved an opponent off the tower."

The official scoffed. "How could I have missed that?"

"It was in the narrow part of the stage." She pointed out toward where her shove had occurred. "The high walls probably blocked your view."

The official hummed curiously. "It must have." She turned to look at Marcie. "Well, I commend you for being honest. You do realize that if I take your admission into account, the points penalty would mean your team loses, right?"

Marcie gritted her teeth and sighed. "Yes. That's why I'm here."

The official nodded. "Thank you for your honesty." She turned and grabbed a microphone. "I'll make the announcement to the scouts." She switched the microphone on, and her voice was then broadcast through the arena PA system. "The result of the previous battle has been changed. Due to a previously undetected Illegal Contact penalty by the yellow team's Number 3, a thirty point penalty has been assigned. Therefore, the pink team wins, 79 to 70."

Marcie looked around to see a few scouts look down at their tablets, probably checking who number 3 was. Marcie felt her heart sink as her own stock likely sank with many of her potential clubs. But, as she reminded herself, it was the right thing to do.

"Thank you again," the official said to her. "Good luck with the rest of the Academy."

Marcie nodded and went on her way to find Jamie, but before she found her way back up to the concourse, she noticed her. Angel, standing at the top of the stairway.

Marcie almost felt like trying to avoid her, but she knew that certainly would not endear herself to an already jaded Angel. Marcie gritted her teeth and continued her way up toward the Octoling. "Uhm, hi," she waved.

Angel gestured for her to follow, and Marcie did so as Angel turned and walked out into the concourse. Marcie trailed her as Angel led her toward a women's restroom. They entered the room, and Angel turned back to face her. "Well," she said, chuckling. "I feel kind of dumb."

Marcie shook her head. "Dumb? Why would you—"

"I call you out for being selfish and then you immediately go have the official announce to everyone that you committed a penalty." She leaned back against a sink, partially sitting on it while keeping her feet on the floor. The way her eyes wandered as she spoke was oddly cute. "I kinda feel bad for being so harsh."

"No, don't feel bad," Marcie waved and hand, then gripped her elbow nervously. "You were frustrated. I understand."

Angel sighed. "You know, that took guts. The fact you did that makes me realize, well...I mean, I was wrong about you, first off. I'm sorry for calling you selfish."

Marcie sighed with relief once she got confirmation that Angel was no longer mad at her. "Don't be. I _was_ being selfish."

"But what counts is that you were selfless in the end," Angel smiled at her. "Winning that battle will really help me, but I will feel bad if you don't end up making it through. You are really good, and honestly," she chuckled and shrugged. "I probably would have shoved you in that situation, too."

Marcie chuckled, leaning her back against a wall. "Yeah. Competitive nature I guess."

"Yeah."

They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. A dripping faucet was the only sound in the room.

"So..." Marcie spoke up. "About you saying...you were into me."

Angel smiled and looked to the side. "That may have...slipped out by accident."

"But...it's true?" Marcie asked, looking at her face closely for any sign of emotion from the Octoling.

"Well...I'll say one thing," Angel chuckled as she began to make her way back to the door. As she began to pass by Marcie she stopped and spoke quieter. "Fighting against you was a lot of fun." She then continued on, reaching the door. "I'll see you around."

Marcie attempted to speak up, but the door had closed behind Angel before she could get a word out. Marcie groaned and rubbed her forehead. "You just...love to leave me hanging, don't you?" She could not help but smile, though. One thing she could be certain of, though: she definitely had not seen the last of Angel.

* * *

Several more battles took place, including a victorious Clam Blitz battle for Jamie and his team. At this point, only about half of the battles had taken place, so Marcie and Jamie still had over an hour to wait around for the next phase of the Academy. For the moment, they sat at a table by the one of the arena's restaurants. It was open for the attendees to get dinner, but Marcie and Jamie were both too on-edge to eat at the moment. Instead they sat and talked over the chatter around them. "So, what the heck happened?" Marcie asked.

Jamie chuckled. "So I have a Power Clam, right? I'm heading for the goal, but the other team also has a Power Clam. Turns out, we throw them at the same time, the Power Clams hit the goals at the same time, so both barriers break."

Marcie scoffed and shook her head. "Okay, I have never heard of that ever happening."

"One of my teammates, who was kind of a nerd about rules and stuff, said there is a rule about it. It wasn't a malfunction or anything. That's exactly what's supposed to happen; both barriers are supposed to break."

"That's insane," Marcie laughed. "So both teams were scoring at the same time in a Clam Blitz battle."

"Well," Jamie shrugged and sighed. "That would've been the case, buuuut, I had already splatted two opponents on my way to scoring my Power Clam, so the other team didn't get much scoring in."

"Wow, you didn't do too bad, huh?" Marcie chuckled. "I'm proud of you, young grasshopper."

"Don't," Jamie murmured. "You still need to tell me how that whole thing with the penalty went down."

Marcie sighed. "Well, I—"

"Yeah!" A voice from behind her called. "Tell us about the penalty."

Marcie turned to see two of her teammates from her battle; the Inkling boy with the roller and the Octoling boy with the SSPro. The one who had yelled, the slightly taller Inkling, was pale-complected and wore a Black LS. His accomplice was a dark-complected Octoling who sported a red polo. They both seemed annoyed, to say the least.

"Uhh," Marcie chuckled. "What do you want to know?"

"We won our battle," the Inkling said. "And yet, we didn't win our battle? How'd that happen?"

"You costed us a win with your little 'uncalled penalty' bit," the Octoling accused. "All of that hard work to win our first battle at the Draft Academy wasn't that important to you, huh?"

Marcie gritted her teeth and prepared to rebuke them, but Jamie spoke up first. "Hey, you two need to back off. So what if you lost?"

The Inkling rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Dude, we didn't come all this way to lose just because Lil' Miss Rulebook couldn't handle getting away with a blown call." He pointed a finger towards her. "If I'm one of the one hundred who get kicked out at the end of today, I'm blaming you, and trust me, I keep a grudge."

Marcie, feeling a chill run down her back at the sight of the guy's finger poking her personal space, stood up and shoved his hand away. "If you don't make it through it's because you don't know how to run with a roller properly. You looked like you were riding a drunk dolphin trying to control that thing."

"Hey!" The Octoling stepped up, getting in her face. "You don't have any right to call us out when we would have won if not for you!"

Jamie got to his feet as well. "You guys need to back off!"

Marcie shook her head, staring the kid down and doing her best to hide her own intimidation. "Chill, kid. If you get kicked out of here it won't be because of me."

The guy shoved her, sending her stumbling back and knocking over the table they had been sitting at. Marcie managed to keep her balance, but felt far more worried now that she knew these two meant business. She turned to look at them, seeing them step toward her. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Many of the other people there turned and murmured in concern. Some of them called for the two guys to back off, but they seemed beyond help. They had made this physical. "Do you even know who we are?" the Inkling asked loudly.

Jamie stepped up beside Marcie. "What, you two think fighting will help? What are you, ten?"

The Octoling rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Oh, I'm sorry I shoved her. Should I go tell the referee?"

Marcie gritted her teeth. "To answer your question, no, I have no clue who you two are."

"They're a couple of ass-hats is what they are!" From behind the two guys stepped forward a shorter Inkling boy dressed in a Zekko Tee and shorts. His hair tentacles were green and parted to the side, and his eyes were a chilling blue. He stepped between the two bullies and pushed them back. "What the hell are you two doing?"

"We're teaching this bottom-feeder that she needs to keep her mouth shut," The Inkling claimed.

"You know what she did," the Octoling added.

"I don't care. You two are embarrassing me and yourselves." The guy sighed and rubbed his eye. "I swear, don't make me regret bringing you here." He turned to look at Marcie and Jamie. "Sorry about these two. They're idiots."

"Hey!" The Inkling objected.

The guy ignored him, instead extending a hand to Marcie. "I'm Dawson. Dawson Modson. 'Awesome Dawson', if you will."

Marcie raised an eyebrow, thinking most people don't disclose their self-promoting nicknames like that upfront when introducing themselves, but she shook his hand nonetheless. "Marcie Tyler."

Jamie leaned in. "Marcie 'Freakin'' Tyler, if you will."

She elbowed him.

"I saw your fight. Very impressive," Dawson nodded as their hands separated. "You're quite the strategist, I might add."

"Thanks," Marcie shrugged, getting a weird feeling from the praise this guy was giving her.

"Daws," the Inkling behind him said. "She's the one who self-reported."

Dawson raised an eyebrow, but chuckled. "Apologies again. My friends here never introduced themselves. Easton and Weston, and yes, their names are coincidental."

Marcie looked back up at the two guys who had confronted her, shooting them a suspicious glance. "Right. Okay."

"I do hope to see more of you later," he bowed his head a bit before beginning to back away. "In the meantime, good luck. Although, do be careful not to commit anymore penalties today. One's understandable, but two is just embarrassing."

Marcie huffed and shook her head, but she was too flustered to respond immediately. By the time she thought of something to say, Dawson and his posse had already turned to leave. "W-what?" She murmured.

"That..." Jamie exhaled and shook his head. "That was really weird."

"I don't like those guys," Marcie said to him. "They give me a bad feeling."

"'Awesome Dawson.'" Jamie shook his head, but then froze for a moment. "Wait...I feel like I've heard that name before."

Marcie looked at her blue-haired friend. "From where?"

He was silent for a few seconds, thinking. Then he snapped his fingers, his eyes widening. "'Awesome' Dawson Modson. I heard about him on IPC Tonight."

Marcie grimaced. "He was on IPC Tonight?"

"Yeah," Jamie nodded. "There was a whole segment on him. They were saying he's the top prospect of this year's Draft class."

Marcie gasped, looking in the direction Dawson had just left, catching a glimpse of him as he walked through the door to the staging area. "Him?" She asked, looking down, mind racing. "The...top prospect?"


End file.
